THANKS for doing that
A podcast CELEBRATING people and ideas that make this world a better place by exploring the things we do, the reasons we do them, and why IT MATTERS.
THANKS for doing that
Paige Gowing on Cultivating Young Minds Through Literature and Storytelling
What stories shaped your childhood, and how are they influencing today’s generation? Join me, Heather Winchell, as I sit down with Paige Gowing, an inspiring elementary school librarian whose passion for storytelling and education is infectious. Paige opens up about her journey from dreaming of becoming a writer to finding her calling as a librarian, all fueled by a family tradition of reading aloud. Discover how Paige utilizes her love for physical books to cultivate a rich library at home and instill a deep appreciation for literature in her students, all while working hand in hand with parents to nurture character through impactful stories.
We unravel the art of selecting the right books for young readers, diving into Paige's thoughtful criteria that emphasize moral literacy and the balance between classic literature and lighter reads. With examples ranging from "Tom Sawyer" to "Captain Underpants," we explore how various narratives contribute to character development and moral understanding. Paige shares her views on how historical shifts have redefined storytelling, inspiring imaginations and influencing personal growth over generations.
Faced with modern distractions, how do we keep the magic of reading alive? We tackle the impact of screens on reading engagement and offer creative solutions like audiobooks for kids who are always on the go. Paige also reflects on book-to-movie adaptations, sharing her admiration for Greta Gerwig's "Little Women." To end on a heartfelt note, we celebrate Paige's colleague, Amy, whose passion for music education enriches their community. Ready to recognize the beauty in our world? We welcome your nominations for future episodes—a call to appreciate the inspiring individuals and tales around us.
Catch more of the story @thanks.for.doing.that.podcast!
Hey, there you are listening to Thanks for Doing that a podcast celebrating people and ideas that make this world a better place. I am Heather Winchell, your host and chief enthusiast, and I'm on a mission to bring you conversations that encourage, inspire and delight. So stay tuned for another episode where we explore the things we do, the reasons we do them and why it matters. Welcome back For today's episode. I am joined by Paige Gowing, so I might have mentioned this before, but I have four children, all boys, and three of them are currently in school, and they're part of a local charter school program that is focused on a classical education, and this school routinely puts on events to educate and inspire parents, and it was at one of these events that I heard the elementary school librarian, mrs Gowing, speak to what makes a great story.
Speaker 1:Now, I'm not sure what images come to mind when you think of an elementary school librarian, but when it comes to Paige Gowing, I think you probably need to throw them out. Paige is an intriguing blend of professional, spunky, knowledgeable and approachable, and it is my observation that she is also typically among the best costumes on any given dress-up day, and I asked Paige to join me on the show, because her words that night were truly inspiring to join me on the show, because her words that night were truly inspiring and it struck me that she is partnering with parents to invite children into a love of reading and pointing them to stories that will shape them and build their character. Paige, thank you so much for joining me. I would love to kick off our conversation by letting you speak to how your own love of great stories was shaped in your decision to become a librarian.
Speaker 2:Thank you for having me. I'm so excited. It's my first podcast ever, woohoo. So thank you for reaching out to me. I really appreciate it.
Speaker 2:My love of stories that's something that has been part of my family culture my whole life. I grew up going to church, so you listen to stories there and then my mom spent a lot of our childhood reading out loud to us. So I have just in my brain her reading Anne of Green Gables, cady Woodlawn, green Eggs and Ham and sometimes when I read aloud I can kind of hear her voice in my voice, which is a fun connection. But stories have always been a big part of who I am. I think it's also intrinsically part of just how I was made. I was spending all of my hard-earned babysitting money buying hardback books and going to Barnes and Noble and just falling in love with stories. That was just something that my family really built, and I was fortunate enough to attend the same charter school that I teach at, so that was a huge part of my educational journey was just literature being constantly in our faces and in our desks and in our hands. So that's definitely helped shape my love of story for sure Very cool.
Speaker 1:I'm wondering. As a child, I also really loved reading and loved story, and I would sometimes hide under my covers with a light or even lock myself in the bathroom pretending that I needed to go to the bathroom, but really I was reading. Did you resonate with that?
Speaker 2:Oh yes, I would lose books. When I was grounded, my parents would take away my books and my hair stuff, so I can definitely relate to that. I was a big reading under the covers sort of girl.
Speaker 1:Okay, so you grew up loving stories. It was a part of your family culture. Did you kind of go into your undergraduate program knowing that you wanted to come out a librarian, or was that something that you discovered along the way, or was your training in education? Tell me about that.
Speaker 2:Such a great question. My path towards being a librarian has been kind of wonky, zigzaggy, as it were. I went to school for English with a concentration in creative writing and my big, bold dream was to be the next great American writer, which is still a dream I have. But I didn't at all think I wanted to be a teacher. I didn't think I wanted to, um, you know, work in a library. I wanted to sit at a desk and write stories. And then, you know, you graduate and you're like oh, I gotta, I gotta make money.
Speaker 1:So I started.
Speaker 2:I know that whole money thing. It does make the world go round, unfortunately, as your stories. Stories also make the world go round. But I knew do stories? Stories also make the world go round. But I knew when I was going to school that I wanted to work with books. I knew I wanted to in some way, shape or form build my professional life around the power of story. So when I graduated college I started working at my school as a literacy para and then I quickly jumped ship to be the librarian and I just never really looked back I it fits the bill of um making my life about story. I had applied at Barnes and Noble like 12 times throughout the course of my life and I was never chosen for an interview or nothing. Wow, I know I might have a chip on my shoulder about that. Now I get to spend my days with kids, which is another love of mine. I love being with kids and being a teacher is a really great thing?
Speaker 1:Yeah, and this isn't part of the questions I sent you, but do you have a strong preference for physical, paper bound books, or have you migrated even the slightest bit to the digital space when traveling, or something?
Speaker 2:I love that question. I do not begrudge anyone the digital space, but I myself do not have a Kindle. I do not do eBooks. I am a huge proponent for paperback, hardback. I can feel it, I can write in it, I can, you know, dog ear it. I can hold it in my hands. I have my own library is almost 800 books strong, which is pretty awesome.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that is awesome. I was actually having a conversation the other day with a friend and we were just talking about how not the school library, because the school library is fantastic, but just with some other library resources in our community we were just thinking about like, huh, a lot of books that we might go to get aren't necessarily there anymore, and so we were just thinking about the importance of having our own kind of library at home, having a set of, like the books we value and really cherish, instead of just thinking, oh, I could always pick that up at the local library.
Speaker 2:And libraries are, so you know they can only have so much right. There's only so much shelf space. So public libraries do tend to have on hand what is like really popular and what is really in right now, and there's nothing wrong with that. I mean, I go to the library and I get what's popular and in right now. Because I have a little bit of that FOMO. I want to know why everyone loves what they love Right, and then I'll decide if I love it or not, and sometimes I do and sometimes I don't. But that's where eBooks are really great, because classics are part of the public domain and so you can get them very easily on your Kindle and things like that. So I am an audio book girl, though.
Speaker 1:Yeah, do you love a good audio book? Do you consider that reading? I do.
Speaker 2:I am on. I am on the side of listening to a book is the same. I mean, it's not exactly the same, but it is reading. And if you think about how stories have been passed down from generation to generation, and just the rich oral tradition of storytelling, audiobooks are really no different. It's just the 21st century version of sitting around a campfire at the end of a long day listening to the village elder speak your myth. Speak your legends, speak your stories.
Speaker 1:Well fun. Thanks for giving us a little bit of the you know history and context and for entertaining my additional questions. Okay, so one of the things that is present within our kiddos' context is just an understanding of great books. There's a list that they read off of that's called the great books list, and it you know. It strikes me that we all probably have a different idea of what makes a great book or a great story, but my understanding is these books are chosen with some specific criteria and I'm wondering if you could define for me what makes a great book in that context.
Speaker 2:Yes, and great books are. You know, it's different. What everyone sees is great, right, like. It can be very based on what an individual feels or thinks. But when we are looking at a great book for our school and adding it to this huge compiled list, we're looking at things like vocabulary and syntax and domain knowledge and whether or not words have Latin roots and stuff like that. But what we're really looking at is moral literacy and this is the idea that the book is going to have a very strong delineation between what is right and what is wrong.
Speaker 2:And when we're looking at a great book, we want to make sure that our students are absorbing stories that really do have that strong division between light and dark, good and evil, right and wrong.
Speaker 2:Because as children, our souls are still being formed, our moral character is still being formed, and that is, you know, our parents speak into that, our educational system speaks into that and so do stories. So, uh, we want to make sure that we really have a strong sense of right and wrong. So our characters are our leading characters, are going to to go through difficult times and maybe make the wrong choice, but suffer the consequences for that wrong choice or learn a lesson. So we're very particular about which books we put on this great books list and which books have been put on this great books list, because the anti-hero trend is really big right now. I know when my husband and I sit and watch a movie or a TV show, we sometimes walk away feeling frustrated. There's just no good person to root for, there's no strong King Arthur character, or there's no strong Dorothy or what have you, and as children they're still forming their ideas of what are right and wrong. So it's important to do what we can to help guide that sense of right and wrong.
Speaker 1:Does that make sense? Yeah, I do think that makes sense, paige, and I'm just I'm aware that you know, as an adult, we can and really should hold more nuance right, we hold more nuance around perspective and navigating that, but as kiddos they don't have the capacity for nuance. So I think it's just confusing.
Speaker 2:That is exactly what I'm saying. You just said it so much more succinctly. Good job, you're right. As adults we live in that nuance, right Like we can read books with villains that we also feel reflect the struggles we have, or heroes that don't quite live up to what we wish they did. But as children, you know, that's not quite a skill that they have, because they're still being formed. Because they're still being formed, yeah.
Speaker 2:So great books are what I like to call like the, the meat and potatoes of the literary world. I always make a comparison between like candy and a hearty meal and the candy of the kids literary world would be books like captain underpants, dog man, goosebumps, all of these books that are so fun and so engaging and important. They're important books that, you know, kids should be exposed to and should, you know, want to read. But we also need to counterbalance the candy of the literary world with the meat and potatoes with books like, you know, the Gold Cadillac or the Girl who drank the moon, or Tom Sawyer, or another one I'm thinking of is the dark is rising by Susan Cooper. These like really hefty, beautiful books that are going to put our characters through really difficult times. But have them come out with a stronger sense of purpose and self, and then also finish with some candy. And I'm the same as a grownup I got shelves of candy and shelves of hearty meals.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I've heard you say a couple of times that you feel like these stories are helping in their formation, that it's forming them in some way, and I'm definitely really intrigued by the concept of formation, you know, just this understanding that we aren't moving through this world static, but that we are being formed. We're being shaped by a variety of things both inside and outside of us, and certainly that is true of our own thoughts or ideas. You know, dallas Willard once commented that we live at the mercy of our ideas, and I've heard others in the habit information space speak to how our thoughts, you know, inform our actions which build our lives honestly. And, I mentioned, heard others in the habit information space speak to how our thoughts, you know, inform our actions which build our lives honestly. And I mentioned that because it strikes me that, you know, as you said, stories have always been a powerful place of inception for ideas. How have you seen stories shape ideas that the people hold, maybe both positively and not so positively?
Speaker 2:I like the quote that you just shared by was it Dallas Willard? Is that?
Speaker 1:what you said.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it reminds me of another quote that I read recently. Different kinds of stories can inspire different kinds of imagination and that imagination in turn shapes our will and character. And I think because we as humans are so designed to crave and love story, those stories do end up having a large impact on the decisions that we make and how we view the world, and entire generations have been changed by a certain cast of imagination. So I think back to like World War I and the writers that came out of the tragedy of World War I and how they took that, the horror of that experience and the alienation of that experience, and they they kind of changed the face of American literature I'm thinking of Ernest Hemingway and in some ways F Scott Fitzgerald and Gertrude Stein and that kind of altered the way that people interacted with literature and story and it became less of these. You know fairy then kind of like marched into the 1960s and the 1970s, where we start to see this anti-heroic, everyman hero trend take off in literature and that I think can be described as a bit of a trickle down effect for us now. And if you look at like social media and the books that are being promoted on social media and the ideas and the ideologies. This idea of trending is like our modern version of our cast of imagination being changed. That can happen in positive ways.
Speaker 2:You asked me about positive and negative ways that stories have shaped the ideas that people hold. A positive way would be just our favorite books from childhood, right? I think every adult can think back to their own childhood and walk away remembering and treasuring a book that really shaped them. One of my favorite books from growing up was Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine, and I think that the main character in that story really kind of helped me to stand up straight and, you know, speak my piece on occasion because that's what she did and I loved that about her so much. And then I think social media has the power to kind of negatively influence our cast of imagination, just with how prevalent it is in our life and how it can kind of negatively impact the way that we see the world. It is perfect on my beautiful Instagram home feed, but that's kind of a lie. Nothing's ever perfect, but there's so much beauty we can find in the imperfection. So that would be my quick two cents on that.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it strikes me as you're kind of explaining, you know, throughout time how maybe our appetite has been changed by what we're being fed and how that's shaping ideas, shaping culture, shaping our imagination, and how that's shaping ideas, shaping culture, shaping our imagination. I just feel like, oh man, this could be such an interesting, really long-form conversation. I'm sure there's so much to unpack there. So I'm really intrigued by that. I know we don't have space for that in this conversation, but it also just, you know, kind of thinking of my own experiences and just watching you know, now that I have kiddos watching how they are shaped by the books that you're reading, and I think, just a couple of things that come to mind that I'm just aware of. Is, you know, like that series you said Captain Underpants, it doesn't really have much reverence for like authority figures. It's kind of belittling of, I think, the principle. I honestly haven't read the books, so maybe I have no authority to say anything about this, but I'm just aware that's a correct summation.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I loved those books when I was growing up, and that is a correct summation, yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and which is okay, except I'm just aware and listening to my own kids process their life and interactions they have with teachers or, you know, maybe people that they feel like don't like them and maybe give them more time on the wall or whatever it might be, I'm just aware like, hmm, are they modeling their behavior or thinking it's normative to kind of make the person in charge the bad guy or kind of like a laughable character? Or, you know, are they having the input from mom and dad and other trusted authorities and other stories that are really giving them the ability to submit to authority even when they don't agree, or to be respectful even if they think something's unfair?
Speaker 2:You know what I'm saying. I know exactly what you're saying. My mom used to say to me growing up you are who you hang out with you are who you surround yourself with, and I always would poo-poo that, sorry, mom, she's totally right, by the way, and that's what my point is is she is right. We do adopt the mannerisms, the filters or whatever, of the people that we spend the most time with, and I think the same can be said with the media that we surround ourselves with.
Speaker 2:And that would be like books and movies and music and entertainment. We do absorb some of those things and I think that you're exactly right, like when, when kids are reading books, that kind of belittle others or belittle authority figures, that can be an attitude that gets adopted, and I even see that in my own self. Uh, when I listened to music. I'm a big sad girly. I love sad songs, I love to feel sad, but then I have to stop myself and say we need to turn off the sad girl bops and start listening to something more uplifting and fulfilling, because the way I interact with my husband changes and the way that I, you know, view waking up for work in the morning changes. So the same can be said for kids and books a hundred percent just for me, and music as well, yeah, yeah, totally.
Speaker 1:What is your favorite part of working with children?
Speaker 2:I adore seeing a student who has convinced themselves that they are not a big reader. They don't enjoy books, books are boring. I adore that moment when they find something that really resonates with them and then they just take off and it is so fun to see what kids are interested in. You know, you get a kid that only likes, they only like squids, only squids, and they check out every book on every squid type and then they can tell you all about squids. So you get little glimpses I get little glimpses into who they are as people and that and that's so, so wonderful who they are now and who they might be later, maybe that, maybe that kid's going to discover a new squid in, like the Mariana Trench, or who knows. So my favorite part is sharing stories and watching kids fall in love with stories the way that I did when I was their age.
Speaker 2:I think it's a really beautiful thing.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I guess. Conversely, what would you say you find most challenging?
Speaker 2:I'm a very loud person, so I'm so loud and I'm the loudest librarian you'll ever meet. I just I don't really have a volume control, so the most difficult part of my job is controlling my volume and setting a good example for them.
Speaker 1:Oh, that's funny, that's really funny.
Speaker 2:That's a really like in the trenches sort of answer, Like yeah, I just can't buy it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I can resonate with that a little bit. I'm curious, Paige, whether I've heard of a lot of data that points to the adverse effect that screens can have on the love for reading and the ability to like, hang in there and stay engaged with the story. Is that something you see? Is that something you see bearing out in? You know, like you said, you love to see it when kiddos really latch onto something. When they're not latching onto something, does it seem from your perspective that it's more like personality they haven't found the thing that intrigues them or do you think there's just some kind of obstacles that are being created by our cultural stream in terms of attention span and things like that?
Speaker 2:From my limited experience, I don't have kids, so I don't necessarily see the effects of screens at home on a young child, but I think that plays into it. I think that we live in a society of immediate gratification. If, if you don't, if you're scrolling through social media and you don't like a video, one quick swipe and you're done. But you can't do that with a book, right. So I think I think attention spans are falling off. I think that can kind of play into it. And I think some kids are just movers and shakers man. They, they want to be out on the soccer field and hanging from the monkey bars and it can be kind of hard to sit still and listen. But that's where audiobooks just are so amazing, right For the kids that can't or don't like to sit still. But I do think that our instant gratification, like streaming society, has kind of affected someone's ability to sit down and sit in a book. That has boring parts and exciting parts, and then, oh, here's another boring part, but I know an exciting part is coming.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and it's even interesting to think about how the experience of kind of the full spectrum within a book, you know boring parts, exciting parts that even like forms your expectation for what life your life should be like, yes, whether your life should just kind of, you know, have moments that feel more dull and mundane, or whether your life should just kind of be like ever exciting, you know. So, yeah, just another interesting way it can form the way you see reality, the way you think it? Should be.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I myself will be. I'll go through a couple of weeks that are kind of boring and I'll say to myself, oh, these are just filler episodes, like when you're watching a sitcom and there's an episode that doesn't have any bearing on the larger plot. This is just a filler episode. And those filler episodes are important and they still hold a lot of value and beauty. But you know, some days are just filler episodes yeah, that's a fun way to look at it.
Speaker 1:Okay, so what are some recommendations that you would have for someone that feels a bit intimidated by like the classics, or books that would be considered a great book?
Speaker 2:My favorite question. I love giving recommendations. I'm also a big Louisa May Alcott girl. I love Little Women and Eight Cousins and Rose and Bloom, jack and Jill, all of those books. The Redwall series by Brian Jakes you would think it would be Jacques because it looks French, but I don't know, for some reason he pronounced it Jake's. But those books are um kind of a a marriage between Chronicles of Narnia and Lord of the Rings. So it's really great for, um, you know, little boys who like action and and strategy. Those are really great. And uh, one of my new favorite great books is the Girl who Drank the Moon by Kate Barnhill. I love, I love that book. I will always suggest that book. That's such a great one. And I could go on and on because I just I'm a reader. But I think if you're feeling intimidated by the classics, walter Brooks is a great place to start, even L Frank Baum, who wrote the Wizard of Oz. Once you get into the Wizard of Oz books you'll probably be going whoa, this is weird.
Speaker 1:Yeah. How often do you come across people that are like, oh, I don't want to read that book because I did not enjoy the movie. Or what's your internal? Do you internally cringe when you hear people judge a book by the movie?
Speaker 2:I, I do. I think that's like, uh, you have to as a librarian, um, but I usually get the converse of kids being like, well, I don't need to read that book because I watched the movie, which gives me a platform to talk about the iceberg. Right, like the movie's only the top of the iceberg, but the book goes like all the way down to the ocean floor sometimes.
Speaker 2:So I do, I do have that conversation, and there's only been a couple movies that I think have been better than the books and the whole scope of life.
Speaker 1:Okay, what would those movies be in your opinion?
Speaker 2:I said movies, but I can only think of one right now Princess Bride, Princess Bride. The movie is so iconic and so wonderful and the book is just this weird, odd little book. That's super fun to read but it is not at all like the movie. Not at all.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so because you mentioned Little Women, what did you think of the most recent remake of that? I?
Speaker 2:adored it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it was good right.
Speaker 2:Oh, it was so good and I grew up with the Wynonna, ryder, christian Bale Little Women, which still has a huge place in my heart. But something about Greta Gerwig's version, I just I felt things so deeply. That made me remember how deeply I felt them when I read the book as a young girl.
Speaker 1:And it's interesting because I feel like in the Wynonna Ryder version you still have some like movement towards Laurie, Like he doesn't seem like such a like slob, but I feel like in the newer version Laurie definitely seems like a slob. Laurie's character was more likable in other versions but maybe that's because it wasn't as true.
Speaker 2:I think he was, and I think one of the reasons is, you know, greta Gerwig really leaned into that like feminist retelling right. And so he was this aimless sort of floating through life male main character who kind of served as a, as almost a foil to the like drive of Joe. But I think that's probably true to the time. If you are a young man who has the world as your oyster, you're going to be kind of rudderless and you're going to be okay with that because life is a party.
Speaker 1:You know what I mean? Yeah, but I really wanted him to, like, do the good and right thing.
Speaker 2:And because he did that in the book. He did that in the book. So I think that I think maybe so much time was spent on each of the March sisters that Lori got left behind a little bit.
Speaker 1:Yeah, but that's okay. Yeah, timothy Shalman is great. Yeah, absolutely, he is Okay cool. Well, hey, this has been a really fun conversation and I, you know, in closing, I'd like to just ask a few fun, lighthearted questions. So, if you had to live the life of any character from a book for a year, who would it be, and why?
Speaker 2:This is such a hard question. It would have to be Amy March from Little Women, but only the time she spends in Europe falling in love with Lori.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 2:I grew up thinking I was a Joe. I'm not a Joe, I'm an Amy. Huh, I think most women find that they're Amy's when they get to a certain age or maybe most women like me Kind of dramatic, a little bit over the top. But I think I'd want to be Amy painting in Europe, falling in love with Lori.
Speaker 1:Cool, I like that. If you could have a theme song every time you walked into a room today, what would it be?
Speaker 2:This is Me from the Greatest Showman.
Speaker 1:Ooh fun.
Speaker 2:If you could gift a book to every student in your school, what would that book be and why? It would be the Wednesday Wars by Gary Schmidt, and this is a book I read over the summer and it is such a beautiful testament to relationship amidst strife. I guess it's for older students, but it would have to be the Wednesday Wars by Gary Schmidt. Or the Girl who Drank the Moon by I want to say Kate Barnhill. I know the last name is Barnhill. As a librarian, I'm a last name person.
Speaker 2:And that one because it's fantastical, it's whimsical and it's almost a religious allegory, but it has compelling characters and a lot of magic in.
Speaker 1:it Sounds really cool. I've never read either of those, so I'm excited to check them out. Okay, so you said that you wanted to be the next great American writer. So if you were given a book deal, what would your book be about?
Speaker 2:It would be about a couple of ceramic fish that live on the desk of a librarian in a small town public library and a little boy who struggles with reading and how the fish and the librarian kind of help him navigate that difficult journey.
Speaker 1:That sounds really fun. I hope we get to read that someday.
Speaker 2:Thank you, I hope so too. It might be a work in progress, who knows?
Speaker 1:Okay, cool, okay. So last question for you, paige, I would really love to give you an opportunity to give a shout out to someone you know who. Would you want to say hey, thanks for doing that.
Speaker 2:Thank you for giving me the opportunity to do that. I would like to shout out one of my colleagues. She is a music teacher in the school that I work at and she is the kindest, most compassionate, most passionate person and she really brings music to life, which is another form of storytelling for our students in a lovely way. So I would want to shout out Amy.
Speaker 1:She's just, she's rad, very cool. Well, the way I like to end my show's page is to actually present to you a haiku that I've written for you. It's just something to kind of capture why I wanted to talk to you and just as a gift for you, so I'd like to read that for you now. I love it. Thanks for doing that, pointing us to great books that form mind and soul.
Speaker 2:Thank you.
Speaker 1:That's amazing. You're so welcome and it has been my privilege to host this conversation and just get to hear more about the why behind what you do and to just see your passion for great stories and how those shape our world. So thank you. Thank you, heather, thanks for Doing that. Is presented to you by the Epiary a place for beholding and becoming, and thank you for joining us for today's episode. Before you go, I have a couple of invitations. If you found it meaningful, could I invite you to take two minutes to rate and review the show. I also invite you to help me create an upcoming episode of Thanks for Doing that by nominating someone or suggesting a topic. Let's link arms to call out the good and the beautiful that we see around us, because I really believe that finding delight in our divided and difficult world could make all the difference.